


Desperate Times

by Measured_Words



Category: Diablotin
Genre: Alternate Universe - Arch Was Never Restored, Arranged Marriage, Diablotin III, F/M, Famine - Freeform, Heist Planning, Wererats
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-28
Updated: 2015-04-28
Packaged: 2018-03-26 04:54:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3837826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Measured_Words/pseuds/Measured_Words
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>80 years ago, the Arch was never restored.  The rats never left the undercity.  The empire teetered forward as forces continued to work for the freedom of Serpent, and the effects of the ensuing chaos spread.  Now the land is suffering from an intense famine, that reaches even into the undercity....</p>
            </blockquote>





	Desperate Times

Andrezj was asleep when Janna returned, but he must have felt her slipping quietly between the furs and turned.

"Go back to sleep," she told him gently. There were other forms curled up together on pallets nearby – the children, her husband's retainers, and their families. It was a cold as well as a hungry winter, as the ground had frozen deep and the fresh air that circulated through the tunnels carried a sharp chill.

"What did they say?" He kept his voice low, matching hers.

"They're afraid to cull the herd much more. We'll need healthy animals to rebuild, in the spring."

Andrezj sat up, frowning. His blond hair stuck up wildly until he ran a hand through it in frustration. "How big a herd do they think we'll need, if half of us die before then?"

"They've taken that into account already."

His frown tightened, and his eyes narrowed as he noted her own tension. "What else?"

"The city bell is tolling again."

"Again?" He glanced around, realizing he'd been louder than he'd intended. They didn't seem to have woken anyone else, save perhaps Ralv, who had an uncanny sense of his prince's habits in any case. Pushing the furs aside, he rose, threading his way through the sleeping forms. Janna followed, laying a reassuring hand on his arm as he stopped to pull on his boots.

The village courtyard was quiet as well, though not deserted. A fire burned in a pit outside their doorway, and Andrezj pulled over a bench, waving her over to sit with him. He looked tired, gaunt and thin. They were all hungry, but she suspected he'd been splitting his rations with the children. He was entitled to his martyrdom, she supposed, but Janna wondered if he realized how the hunger frayed his temper. She sat, taking his hand.

"I told you I'd been having troubling dreams. The older priests had more potent visions... The famine is causing unrest in the uppercity as well. But so far everything is fine, here. The Wastelord doesn't stir."

"All right." That seemed to appease him, until the rest of her statement caught up. "Wait – you’re saying they killed their own ruler?"

"'They'. Someone did. Who, and why, we might never know." She shrugged. "I don't see how it matters."

"It was never like this before. In my grandmother's time, they hadn't even made the connection, because their Emperors lived so much longer."

"I know." She squeezed his hand, looking into his eyes. He'd been given the gift of magic by the Wastelord, but he didn't feel the same deep connection she did. There were some secrets that were best kept by the priests, and the nature of the connection of the Wastelord to the upper city was one of them. But Andrezj wasn't letting this go.

"But this – this could make things worse, don’t you see? If they do it once, they could do it again. It’s a dangerous way of thinking, and it's barely been a year since the last time. A terrible year."

"The Wastelord won't leave us again." He'd never really left, but he had withdrawn some of the more obvious signs of his power for a time. Some of the priests had lost the ability to draw on him for more than basic magics. Janna, luckily, had not suffered that fate.

"I believe you," he said, after a telling pause. He might believe her – but he didn't trust that she was right. "But people talk, and they're already desperate. Annyck's having a rough enough time – she doesn’t need them to get any ideas." He smiled darkly and glanced around, but the only ones close enough to hear were herself, Ralv and Lilje. Janna hadn't heard them come out, but they'd taken up sentinel positions in front of the hut.

"No one has challenged her... have they?"

He shook his head. "Not yet."

Coming from someone else, it could have been a threat. But Andrezj was too loyal for that. Loyal, and clever. "What are you thinking?"

"Envr knows where the storehouses are in the uppercity."

Envr was a scout – an increasingly dangerous, and important, job. When he'd taken an interest in Denzj, one of Ander's faction, he'd urged her to marry him. Janna didn't think the girl had needed much encouragement though – they seemed quite happy together. And Andrezj had gained another invaluable resource. "Are you proposing a raid? They must be quite well guarded."

"Against men, maybe. But we could get in."

"It would still be very dangerous." Any food that could be brought in to the village would save lives, and from a purely practical perspective if they failed there would still be more to go around. But Janna wasn't ready to lose a second husband. She'd had more time to get attached to Andrezj than to his brother, and she knew it would hurt more this time too. "Where are they?"

"Across the river." He continued quickly as she started to frown. “Envr knows safe routes, ways to go on four feet, to steer clear of… well of most danger.”

She was dubious - both of the safety and viability of this plan so far. “You can’t get enough food to matter back to the village as rats. Or even out of their stores.”

“We’ll have to do several trips in, and I’ll have Envr scout out somewhere safe in the tunnels there where we can guard it. Once we’ve got it out, we’ll have more options. We can send for others to help, or clear a safe path. Yes, it’s risky, but it would be worth it.”

Janna sighed, leaning against him. He wrapped an arm around her, stroking her hair reflexively while she thought. Anything they could do to relieve the famine would be worth the risk. She wished it didn’t have to be his risk, but she knew he would never agree to send someone else in his place, and no one else would argue the point. He was well liked, but he'd fulfilled his duty to the lineage, providing her two children. As long as the next generation survived, he was extraneous – expendable. Combined with his rank, this made him a natural candidate for a mission like this, even if it hadn't been his idea. If she could go with him, she might not feel so helpless, but as a priest her duty to the community was different. "Have you talked to Annyck yet?"

"No...but I will now. As soon as I can."

Janna nodded, turning, reaching up to catch his other hand and draw it into her lap. "All right." She leaned forward, kissing him gently on the cheek. "But not too soon, my love."

Andrezj nodded, rising with her and letting her draw him back to their bed.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for my Trope Bingo 'AU: Fantasy' square. It's fantasy, it's an AU, that counts, right? It has wererats! They're pretty fantastic! :D
> 
> This is, in theory, the prequel to a longer fic...


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